


embrassez-moi, s'il vous plaît

by bebe8s



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Blow Jobs, Crushes, First Dates, Fluff and Humor, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Hand Jobs, Ice Skating, M/M, No Angst, Richie Tozier Flirts, Sexual Humor, Sexual Tension, Tutoring, Underage Drinking, because that's what he would do ok, eddie is a french tutor, i guess but theyre like 20 so barely, i torture u guys enough so this is just cute, richie is bad at french and needs his help, richie tozier learns how to talk dirty in french, unbeta'd because im not a coward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:55:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21788614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bebe8s/pseuds/bebe8s
Summary: When Eddie looks up, Richie is watching him intently, really listening to what he has to say. He looks gorgeous as he focuses on Eddie's words. He finds himself fighting the urge to kiss him, which would be inappropriate. This is his job for crying out loud. He can't just go kissing the person he's tutoring, even if he is the most beautiful human Eddie has ever laid his eyes on.Title means "kiss me, please"
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 82
Kudos: 463





	1. c'était un coup de foudre

**Author's Note:**

> this is literally so self indulgent and is also the most on brand thing i've ever written. it's just me being a giant french nerd. like. i'm deadass teaching u guys some french rules ok. but i will make sure to have english translations worked into the story for whatever shit they're saying lol.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> title means "love at first sight"

Eddie sighed as he unzipped his backpack. He was sitting in one of the study rooms in the library that's reserved for tutoring sessions, waiting for the guy he was supposed to be tutoring - some guy named Richie. He had never met the guy, and all he knew was that he was tragically bad at French and was in desperate need of Eddie's help if he wanted to pass the class he was in. Eddie still found himself oddly nervous, though - probably because he had absolutely no idea what to expect.

After he got out his textbook and laptop, he sat back in his chair and scrolled through his phone aimlessly. He was switching over to snapchat when he heard a wolf whistle behind him.

"Man, if I had known that I would get such a cute tutor, I would have gotten help ages ago," a lanky, dark-haired, pale figure says. Richie, presumably.

"You probably should have gotten help ages ago anyways," Eddie replied flatly. He took a moment to fully take in the guy standing in front of him now. He was impossibly tall, with a mess of unkempt curls on his head and a smattering of freckles across his cheeks. His thick rimmed glasses sat perched on his nose, drawing attention to his beautiful eyes. Eddie was trying to ignore how attractive he found Richie, which was hard. Especially when Richie had just called him cute. As the very first thing he ever said to him. Wow. Some first impression.

"Oh! And he's got some bite, huh? How do you say… Je t'aime?" 

" _ I love you _ ? We just met." 

"Love at first sight, then. How do you say that?"

"Un coup de foudre."

"Un coup de foudre," Richie repeats as a grin spreads across his cheeks.

Richie slid into the seat next to Eddie, starting to grab his papers from his backpack. He was unthinkably disorganized; Eddie could see all sorts of handouts from French class wrinkled and sticking out from in between his books. He cringed at that.

"I'm Eddie, by the way," Eddie said.

"Eddie. I like it, Eddie Spaghetti. Je m'appelle Richie Tozier."

"That's not my name. And also, you butchered the pronunciation on that."

"That's why I'm here!"

Eddie rolled his eyes. It's not his fault that his love language is just him being mean to the object of his affection. Plus, Richie was proving to be very easy to bully. 

"Alright, Monsieur Spaghetti, teach me French!" Richie exclaims, throwing his arms out dramatically. Eddie reaches out and pulls Richie's arms down, trying to ignore the way his body feels electric at their contact.

"You don't pronounce the 'n' in monsieur. There's lesson number one." Eddie pauses for a moment, relishing in the grin he earned from Richie, before speaking again. "Anyways, I got a copy of your syllabus so that I know exactly what to cover. I'll help you with homework assignments and go over all the handouts you get, and anything else you need, too. But, uh, let's start with you just telling me what things give you more trouble."

"I think it's safe to say everything. I've got a math-oriented brain. I can ace a calc exam without studying, but I will never in a million years understand French. Luckily, this is the last foreign language class I need for my degree. I guess most recently we've been learning about object pronouns and relative clauses and I just don't understand that shit."

"Okay, that's a good place to start. It's actually simple, with understandable rules. If you have a math brain, then you might be able to better pick up on those. Hopefully I can help."

"Oh, Eddie, I am  _ confident  _ that you will be able to help."

Eddie can't stop the blush that fills his cheeks, so he tries to brush past it by grabbing at Richie's disheveled stack of papers. He flips through them, trying to find one on object pronouns. It takes him a second since there is absolutely no order to the stack. He feels triumphant when he finally finds one about using le, la, and les. A nice, simple place to start.

"Alright, let's start here. Le, la, and les are pretty much the most basic of the pronouns. Do you know where it goes in the sentence?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be here, would I?" Richie responds smartly. Eddie's ears heat up a little, enjoying the bickering they've got going.

"Okay, fair point. So, it goes before the verb. So, if I was going to say 'I have it,' I would say 'Je l'ai.' Does that make some sense?" Eddie asks, pausing to give Richie a chance to answer. French has always come very easy to him, so he's trying to be patient and helpful. He doesn't want to go too fast.

"Yeah, I guess. But like, how do I know to use le at all?"

"That was where I was going next! So, it's actually pretty easy. If you have a sentence that has an object in it that uses the article le, la, or les, you know to use it. It also applies to ce, cette, or ces, but that's less important right now."

When Eddie looks up, Richie is watching him intently, really listening to what he has to say. He looks gorgeous as he focuses on Eddie's words. He finds himself fighting the urge to kiss him, which would be inappropriate. This is his job for crying out loud. He can't just go kissing the person he's tutoring, even if he is the most beautiful human Eddie has ever laid his eyes on.

Eddie grabs a sheet of notebook paper and scrawls a sentence on it:  _ Je mange le pizza. _

"Okay, so try this one. A good way to figure it out is to circle or underline the part you're replacing with the pronoun," Eddie says as he slides the paper over to Richie. Richie pulls out his pen, which is a fucking green gel pen, because of course it is, and scrawls on the paper. When Eddie looks, he's written  _ Je le mange. _

"Excellent! See, I told you that you could figure it out. You just gotta have a little confidence in yourself. Before long, you'll have object pronouns mastered!"

"Do I get a prize? A kiss, maybe?" Richie says with a smile. A really fucking pretty smile.

"No, but you can do the examples on the worksheet that you got in class for homework!" Eddie says back, matching Richie's playful tone. Eddie watches as Richie fills out the worksheet. He's doing pretty well, only making a few mistakes here and there. Nothing too complicated. Of course, they are still on the easiest of the pronouns.

"Alright, professor. How'd I do?" Richie asks, showcasing his work to Eddie. Eddie's eyes struggle to take in the hideous green ink. He pulls out a red pen to make the few corrections needed, which mostly consist of Richie leaving out an apostrophe. When he's done, the paper has a slight Christmas vibe, given the colors.

"Okay, so, yeah. I think it's safe to say you've got that down. Ready for a bit of a challenge?"

"Probably not, but bring it on, Monsieur," Richie says, getting the pronunciation right this time. Eddie shuffles back through the mess of worksheets, finding one on lui and leur.

"Alright. It's time to talk about people. So, this one also has a pretty basic rule. Whenever you have à plus a person, you're going to have lui. And if it's à plus multiple people, you'll use leur. This also goes before the verb. Alright, we'll start with this example:  _ Il téléphone à son mère. _ So, again, underline the part you're turning into the pronoun, and then place it where it goes."

Richie pulls out his cursed pen and underlines  _ à son mère _ , rewriting the sentence underneath.  _ Il lui téléphone.  _ Perfect again. Then again, regular pronouns are on the easier side. It gets complicated once you mix them and force someone to figure out which one is needed. When it's guaranteed to be lui or leur, it's not that hard to figure out.

They spent the rest of their session just going over the various object pronouns. Richie struggled the most with en, but that's because he's human. En is easily the most difficult pronoun. They wrapped up once their hour was up, and scheduled their next session for after Richie's next class on Wednesday afternoon. 

"Eddie Spaghetti, my day will be very empty without you tomorrow. But alas, we shall meet again on Wednesday!" Richie declared, blowing Eddie a kiss before exiting the room.

As Richie left, Eddie found himself anxiously awaiting Wednesday at 4. 

\---

Finally, fucking finally, it was Wednesday. Eddie's classes dragged on. All he could think about was seeing Richie again later. Which, by the way, was stupid. He was pretty sure Richie was straight, and even if he wasn't, he was pretty sure Richie wouldn't be interested in  _ him. _ Plus, he wasn't even sure if he was allowed to date someone he was tutoring since this was a job. He pushed all of those thoughts out of his mind, not wanting to make himself sad before seeing Richie again.

When Eddie got to their study room, he pulled out his materials again. This time, he had plans to have Richie differentiate between the different object pronouns. It would be more difficult than what they dealt with on Monday, but that's the point of tutoring. 

Richie came strolling in at 4:03, iced coffee in hand. Eddie tried to ignore his mind screaming  _ gay drink! gay drink! gay drink! _ He also tried to ignore the fact that Richie looked hot. He had on black jeans a holey Rolling Stones t-shirt, and his look was completed by his mess of curls sitting atop his head. 

"Bonjour, teach!" Richie exclaimed, plopping down in his seat. He flashed Eddie a huge grin before bringing his coffee back up to his mouth.

"Hello, Richie. Ready to get started?" Eddie asked, angling his body towards Richie.

"Oui, oui! Oh, but first, I learned a new phrase: J’ai rêvé de toi cette nuit."

Eddie blushed. Pushing through the tragic pronunciation, there's no way he really dreamt of him last night. Right? 

"Oh, you did, now? What happened in this dream?"

"Well, I don't know if it's exactly tutoring session appropriate. It was… how you say… une éjaculation nocturne," Richie said with a smirk. Eddie went impossibly redder, the tips of his ears burning.

"I should just let you fail French at this point," Eddie snapped playfully. 

"You could never do that to me, Eddie Spaghetti! You love me too much!"

"Love is a strong word for someone I've known for about 48 hours," Eddie said through an eye roll. 

"Hey, didn't I say this was un coup de foudre!" Richie exclaimed back. Eddie was surprised he actually remembered that phrase. 

"You're killing me with all this franglais, Rich." 

"Then teach me solid French, you beau ténébreux," Richie said through a smile.

"I'm not a stranger. And also, I'm not that handsome. Let's get to work."

"Okay, but first: you are  _ quite  _ handsome. Now let's get to work."

Eddie blushed again. He was pretty sure at this rate he was just going to turn permanently red. Eddie opened the folder he had made for his sessions with Richie. He had printed off some worksheets about using the different object pronouns so that he could teach Richie how to recognize when to use which one. He pulled those sheets out, placing them between him and Richie.

"Alright, today we're working on using the different object pronouns. So, this sheet has a bunch of sentences that use one of the five: me, le, lui, y, or en. You have to figure out which one it is and then place it in the right place. Each sentence only has one, though. We're not quite to using two in the same sentence. We'll go through the first few together to make sure you've got it."

"Whatever you say, un beau gosse," Richie remarked. Eddie rolled his eyes again, mumbling, "I'm not a hunk. Now shut up and focus."

"What's shut up in French?"

"Tais-toi. Or fermer la bouche works, too."

"Makes sense. I've heard those phrases a lot from French teachers." Richie absently grabbed out a pen and directed his attention to the paper once he finished speaking.

"Alright, so the first sentence is  _ J'ai acheté deux pommes.  _ What object pronoun would you use, and what are you replacing?"

Richie paused and thought for a moment before bringing his pen to the paper. He underlined  _ deux pommes _ in purple ink, and Eddie was barely surprised at the appearance of yet another fun color. He doesn't know why Richie doesn't just own a blue or black pen, but whatever. It's his own prerogative. 

"I think… do I use en?" Richie asks. For once, he's not very confident. It's shocking, especially since he's right.

"Yes! Now try to rewrite the sentence," Eddie suggests. Richie scrawls on the paper, leaving a messy, purple  _ J'en ai acheté.  _ He looks to Eddie for approval.

"Okay, almost. When you have a quantity, like  _ deux pommes,  _ even though you're replacing the  _ pommes  _ part, you're going to leave the  _ deux  _ where it is. So it would be  _ J'en ai acheté deux, _ " Eddie says, trying not to discourage Richie. It's a common mistake, really. Richie just looks at him, clearly puzzled. Eddie starts speaking again, hoping to ease some of the confusion.

"So, like in English, if you're saying 'How many apples did you buy?' you're going to reply with 'I bought two.' The quantity is important, because there's a huge difference between two and two hundred apples. Or, like, if I asked if you had a car, and you replied that you had two, that's a huge difference from just having one. You would say 'J'en ai deux,' and I would be impressed, because cars are expensive. You leave the descriptor, which is a quantity, so that we know how many. Does that make any sense, or did I just confuse you more?"

Richie perked up a little and flashed Eddie a soft smile.

"No, that made it much clearer. You're excellent at explaining things, Eddie Spaghetti. Don't know how I lucked out with the smartest  _ and  _ the cutest tutor."

They spent the rest of the time on the same worksheet, Eddie stopping to explain things when Richie was confused. And, of course, Richie kept dropping stupid flirty lines, sometimes in broken French, sometimes just in English. When Eddie looked at his phone, it was already 5:15 and they had gone over by fifteen minutes.

"Oh, crap. We went over. Sorry to keep you!" Eddie said hurriedly. He didn't want to say that he actually had somewhere to be, because frankly he really liked spending time with Richie. He was just meeting his roommate Stan and Stan's new boyfriend Bill. They could wait a few minutes, especially since he was supposed to be there right now and wasn't yet. He figures he should get going. Stan is very punctual and would not enjoy Eddie being late.

"Oh, you're fine. I consider any time with Monsieur Spaghetti to be time well spent."

"You're so stupid. Anyways, I actually am supposed to be meeting my roommate for dinner, and I'm already late, so I will see you later!" Eddie rushes out as he gathers his stuff. Even in a rush, though, he makes sure to keep everything orderly. He's not a disorganized hooligan like Richie.

"Wait, we gotta set up the next time," Richie says. Eddie really doesn't have time to sit here and figure out when their schedules align. 

"Here, this is my number. Just shoot me a text about when you're free and we'll figure something out!" Eddie says as he scrawls his number onto Richie's paper. His handwriting is still impressively neat through the hurried writing. 

"Oh, I will text you more than just that," Richie says with a smirk. Eddie rolls his eyes and turns around to head out. Before he leaves, though, he stops to tell Richie goodbye. He vaguely hears Richie call out an "Au revoir!" as he's clambering down the steps.

When he reaches the bottom, his phone buzzes with a text from a new number. Richie.

**(5:18 PM) bonjour mon canon. c'est richie ;)**

He smiles at his phone.  _ My cutie _ . That's what Richie called him. Eddie knows that logically, he really needs to squash this pointless crush. But he can't, especially not when Richie goes around calling him  _ his  _ cutie. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i know i said i was waiting to post this until i finished my other fic but screw it. i am to excited. we're all gonna be learning french together lads. also i'm not like fluent but i am a french minor so i'm pretty sure there are no french mistakes but also i'm stupid so


	2. richie tozier, le plus grand dragueur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yeah. Just ask him if it's gay to French kiss your bro if you're just doing it to study for French class," Stan said with a grin, pulling his coffee up to his face. Mike laughed, but Eddie did not find it amusing. He just gave Stan an eye roll and flipped him off.
> 
> title means "richie tozier, the biggest flirt"

Eddie felt saved by the buzz of his phone. He was trying to get some work done but was having trouble focusing and was desperately searching for an excuse to stop. Richie's name flashed on the screen, and Eddie figured he was just cancelling their tutoring session they had scheduled for Friday afternoon. He unlocked his phone and went to his messages.

**(7:38 PM) hey spaghetti. i made u a playlist of french songs**

_ (7:39 PM) why? _

**(7:39 PM) because i'm awesome. here's the link.**

**(7:39 PM)[voulez-vous coucher avec moi? | trashmouth_tozier](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0lUAZ2R05dVyDwcPnMZFHB?si=cK2hVOKSTJmk7ASIriYOYw)**

_ (7:42 PM) no i will not sleep with you. _

_ (7:43 PM) but i might listen to the songs. we'll see. _

**(7:44 PM) just a warning - they're super fucking cute**

**(7:44 PM) just like u**

Eddie rolled his eyes at the last message and started thumbing through the songs. He clicked the shuffle button, and was greeted by a gentle song with a pleasant melody. Eddie didn't know how Richie had managed to find such good French music so fast, but he appreciated it. 

It didn't take him long to realize these were all love songs. Because of course they were. That was so very Richie of him. For some reason, though, it just made Eddie want to listen to the playlist even more. He felt a little weak in the knees at the fact that Richie had actually taken time out of his day to pick a few songs out and put them on a playlist for Eddie.

\---

Friday afternoon, Eddie sits in the student café waiting for his best friends Mike and Stan.They always tried to get lunch together on Fridays since their schedules lined up best that day. It was their guaranteed time to catch up, especially since they could all get wrapped up with their own stuff. Even though Stan was his roommate, they still could go several days without saying more than a few sentences to each other. These Friday lunches were a really good thing.

And yeah, maybe he was listening to that dumb playlist Richie made him while he waited. And yeah, maybe that was all he had listened to for the past 24 hours. And yeah, maybe he did really fucking love it. 

He barely registers Mike and Stan walking up and sitting down, both already deep in conversation. Eddie interrupts them anyways.

"You know what sucks? The guy I'm tutoring is, like, really fucking cute," Eddie says so abruptly that Stan and Mike are snapped out of their conversation (Eddie was pretty sure it was just about the class they shared).

"That sounds like a good thing?" Mike said skeptically.

"Well, it's not, because it's my  _ job  _ and I'm I'm not supposed to go dating the people I tutor. Like, I actually looked it up after I met him and it's strongly frowned upon. And that doesn't even matter, because I'm pretty Richie's straight. And even if he was into guys, I'm positive that he wouldn't go for a guy like me. He's gorgeous. Like, model status. And meanwhile, I'm just me. Blech."

"Eddie. If you continue to speak about my best friend like that, I'm going to have to hit you. You are also model status," Stan asserted, drawing a small smile from Eddie.

"Plus, why are you so sure he's straight?" Mike asks next. Eddie thinks for a moment.

"Because life does not just drop gorgeous gay men into my lap like this," Eddie said matter-of-factly. Mike and Stan both nodded, understanding what Eddie meant.

"I'm sure you could find a way to figure it out," Mike said encouragingly.

"Yeah. Just ask him if it's gay to French kiss your bro if you're just doing it to study for French class," Stan said with a grin, pulling his coffee up to his face. Mike laughed, but Eddie did not find it amusing. He just gave Stan an eye roll and flipped him off.

"Look, I'm just saying, French is the most romantic language there is. Use that to your advantage!" Stan finished. 

"Maybe you have a point. But I don't even know what I would do. He's always being so annoying."

Mike and Stan gave Eddie a questioning look, begging him to go on. Eddie thought for a moment, not sure how to phrase this next part correctly.

"Like, he's weirdly flirty. He never shuts up or stops calling me cute. He also calls me a lot of nicknames."

"Eddie, that's literally called being into guys," Mike assured him with a pointed look. 

"But maybe it's just him being a homie," Eddie argued. This time it was Stan who gave Eddie the eye roll. Eddie could only shrug in response, lost on how exactly to get his point across.

"You just have to meet him. Then you will see what he's like and you'll understand why I don't think he's flirting," Eddie said, hoping that would shut them up. It did not.

"Okay. Doesn't your session start in like fifteen minutes? We'll walk with you."

So that's how Eddie ended up walking to the library accompanied by Stan and Mike. Stan was looking at the birds as they walked. Eddie remembers him saying that was one of his favorite things about campus -  _ There's all these trees, which means there's all these birds! _

When they finally got up to the tutoring center, Richie was nowhere to be seen. Eddie wasn't that surprised, seeing as there were still five minutes until they were supposed to meet. Richie was one to stroll in right on time, at best. Eddie predicted Richie's worse would be pretty fucking late.

The three of them piled into the room Eddie was signed up for that day, sliding into the chairs around the table. They fell into their normal best friend conversation pretty quickly. They were discussing Pokemon Go when Richie arrived.

"Wait a second. Did you have a threesome and not invite me?" Richie said, sounding offended.

"He wishes," Stan snorted. Eddie shot him a glare, but he still didn't miss Richie's grin.

"These are my friends, Mike and Stan," Eddie said to Richie, gesturing to the two men in front of them. Polite waves were exchanged quickly. 

"I gotta say, Spaghetti, I'm a little jealous that these guys get to hang with a cutie like you so much," Richie said with a smile. Eddie tried to roll his eyes, but was stopped by a look from Stan. An  _ I told you so  _ look. 

"Well, at that, I believe we should be on our way," Mike said, starting to get up. Stan followed him, heading towards the door. He paused briefly behind Richie to mouth  _ Cute! _ Eddie just ignored him.

"Sorry about that. Ready to get started?"

"Yes! But first - I learned a new phrase," Richie said with a shit-eating grin. Eddie was slightly (or extremely) scared.

"Je me branle souvent quand je pense à toi."

"You're gross," Eddie said flatly as he scrunched his nose up.

"Do you even know what I said?" Richie asked, almost like a challenge. 

"Yes. You jerk off to me."

"I jerk off to you  _ often _ , Eds. That part's important."

"You're the absolute worst," Eddie answered.

"Donne-moi une fessée s’il te plait. Je suis un garçon vilain," Richie says with a spark in his eyes. 

"I am not spanking you, though you're right. You are a naughty boy. How can you memorize these but not the stuff you actually need?"

"I'm just a passionate learner!"

"But apparently only for French dirty talk..." Eddie says sarcastically. Richie grins, nodding in agreement.

"Okay. So-" Richie cuts Eddie off almost immediately, asking, "Have you listened to the playlist I made you? Do you like it?"

He almost sounds vulnerable, like he really cares what Eddie thinks. Eddie is embarrassed to admit it, but he doesn't want to lie to Richie, so he just nods sheepishly.

"What's your favorite song on there? I quite like 'Soleil' by Roméo Elvis." Richie's grinning at him as he awaits him answer. Eddie's trying not to think about how fucking cute he looks like this.

"I think 'Mourir vieux (avec toi)' cause it's really sweet. But 'Que du love' really is a bop," Eddie says, buying into Richie's whole excited nature.

"Both excellent choices. Although the playlist is filled with bops, bangers, and tunes, so you can't really make a wrong choice."

"Alright, enough music talk. On to relative clauses!"

"Please no. I am so bad at these. So fucking bad. It's pitiful."

"Okay, well, you're not alone there. Plus, we're just starting with qui and que, none of that lequel business where it gets super complicated," Eddie says, trying to reassure Richie that he can do it.

"Yeah but how the heck am I supposed to know when to use qui or que? Like, they're just one letter different. Why does it matter?"

"Qui is followed by a verb. So, like 'Voici le personne qui vend des fleurs.' The qui is followed directly by the verb. But for que, it's followed by a subject. For example, 'Tu apprécies la musique que Richie joue.' A subject, in that case Richie, follows que. That's the rule. If it's followed directly by a verb, use qui. But for subjects, use que." 

When Eddie looks up, he half expects Richie to be zoned out and doodling on his paper. But his eyes are glued on Eddie, and he seems to have actually taken that all in. Richie may claim he's terrible at French, but he really does care about it. And he puts in the effort. And he's actually not all that terrible. 

"Okay, I guess that kinda makes sense."

Richie works through a homework assignment he had gotten on relative clauses, all with Eddie watching and helping whenever he gets stuck. He doesn't get stuck that much. Eddie's convinced that Richie is a genius and was only failing because he wasn't paying attention at all in class. 

"See! I told you that you could do it!" Eddie says once Richie finishes the sheet with a very small number of mistakes. 

"Could I get un bisou as a reward?"

"You cannot. I'm not bribing you with kisses. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."

Richie dramatically pouts, but he doesn't push it. For all of his flirty comments, he's weirdly good at dropping it once Eddie says no. Of course, he does bring it up again in a new way fifteen minutes later, but Eddie would be lying if he said he didn't love that. 

Eddie spends the last twenty minutes trying to explain lequel to Richie, all to no avail. He can't blame him, though. It's a hard thing to learn. It certainly has tripped him up on several occasions. When the session is over, Eddie starts neatly placing his things back in his backpack.

"So, uh, I don't know if you have plans tonight, but I'm going to this party my friend is throwing. It'd be cool if you came, too. You can bring your friends, too. Stab and Mime, right?"

"You absolutely know that is not right," Eddie laughs out with an eye roll. 

"How am I expected to focus on learning their names when you were also there, looking absolutely adorable?"

Eddie ducks his head to hide his blush. It's not that successful of a cover, but it will do for now.

"Uh - I'll ask. No promises though. Stab and Mime aren't exactly party people. Neither am I, though. That's why we're friends."

"I'll text you the address!" Richie says excitedly. He ruffles Eddie's hair before heading out, stopping to give Eddie a fake salute on his way out the door. 

\---

"Look, Stan, I know you don't like parties, but come on! He invited me! And you and Mike!"

"No, he invited Stab and Mime. How do you even know that meant us?" Stan asks pointedly. Eddie briefly regretted telling him that part, but it was funny. He had to.

"You know that's a weak argument, you fool. What if Bill came, too?"

"Ugh. Fine. But Mime cannot come, as he has a shift at the library. I'll text Bill and ask if he wants to go."

Eddie smiled to himself and started searching for something to wear. He wanted to look hot. Richie was always calling him  _ cute _ , which was also wonderful, but he wanted to make Richie's mouth water. He then took a moment to remind himself that Richie is probably straight and wouldn't be into him anyways, but apparently his conscious just doesn't care. He keeps looking for the perfect outfit.

"Alright, Bill says he was already going with his roommate so he'll just meet us there."

\---

Thirty minutes later and they were out the door. The party was at a frat house on campus, so they decided just to walk. It'd be safer if they decided to drink at all (and Eddie knew he probably would, especially if he saw Richie). Eddie hadn't told Richie he was coming, though. He wanted to surprise him.

He knew he was setting himself up for failure, but whatever. Let him live and make silly college mistakes. 

They heard the party before they saw it. A thrum filled the street of the party, the bass thumping from the decently sized frat house. There were people scattered on the porch smoking even though it was October and a little chilly. Eddie had only been to two other parties before, so he didn't really fully know what to expect. His expectations were exceeded the moment he walked through the door and saw Richie.

His hair was a mess, but in the best way. He was wearing a long sleeve black t-shirt under a hideous hawaiin shirt, dark ripped jeans, and a pair of patchy vans. He had a light sheen of sweat, probably from how hot the house was with all the bodies packed in so tight. He looked delectable. 

"Oh, there's Bill over there, talking to Richie," Bill said as he motioned in the direction of Richie who was, in fact, talking to Bill. Eddie had not even noticed that. Stan and Eddie pushed their way through the crowd to get to the other two. 

"Hey, babe," Bill said when he saw Stan, pulling him in for a kiss. It was cute. Eddie was happy that Stan was happy. "Richie, this is my boyfriend Stan and his roommate-"

"Eddie Spaghetti! You didn't tell me your roommate was dating my roommate!" 

"To be fair, I didn't know," Eddie shrugged. 

"You guys know each other?" Bill asked, a little confused.

"Yeah, this is the cutie that's been tutoring me in French," Richie said to Bill. Then, he redirected his attention to Eddie, "Speaking of which, we could probably get some studying done tonight, too? What would you say to a little French kissing?" Richie waggled his eyebrows, and even though Eddie wanted to say yes, he knew Richie was just joking around, so he just rolled his eyes. That was turning out to be a very common occurrence for him around Richie.

"I'll get my kiss one day!" Richie declared dramatically. He paused, then asked Eddie, "Do you want something to drink?"

Eddie nodded, and Richie reached out and intertwined their fingers, guiding him into the kitchen. And yeah, now Eddie was freaking out because Richie was holding his hand. He'd only known Richie for a matter of days, but damn if he wasn't whipped. It's unfortunate, too, considering all Richie liked to do was joke around about any sort of physical contact with Eddie.

Eddie briefly wondered what would happen if he just accepted one of Richie's jokes. If, when Richie asked for a French kiss, he just said "Yeah!" Richie would probably switch tutors and never talk to him again. 

Once they arrived at the kitchen counter, Richie looked back at Eddie.

"What can I get you, hottie? There's a lot to work with here. I'm sure I could mix whatever you wanted!"

"I'll just take a rum and coke," Eddie said with a soft smile. Richie got to work, and seconds later Eddie had a red solo cup in his hand. He took a long swig from it before looking back at Richie. Richie, who was looking at him with this very strange, very unplaceable look in his eyes.

"Do you wanna go chat somewhere quieter? Like, there's a nice place out back," Richie says, and Eddie wants that, so he nods. He follows Richie to the backyard. There's a smattering of people out there, too, some making out, some smoking. Richie blows right past them, stopping between two trees. In between, there's a hammock.

"Are we both going to fit in there?" Eddie asks skeptically.

"I think we can squeeze."

They barely fit, but they do squeeze. Eddie is staring at Richie, their legs practically intertwined, and he doesn't know how his brain hasn't short circuited yet. 

"So, have you always been a French genius?" Richie asks, nursing his drink.

"I guess. Language just comes to me, sort of. I like it because there's rules, but the rules are flexible."

Richie nods, taking it in. He thinks for a moment before saying, "See, I need strict rules. I can't have exceptions. That's why I like math."

"What's your major?"

"Engineering. Lots of rules there."

They both sit in silence for a moment. Somehow, it's not awkward. Eddie can't think of a single thing to possibly say.

"I can't believe Bill is your roommate. I literally just met him on Wednesday. Like, that's crazy." 

"I know! At least now I know I can escape to your room whenever they're hooking up."

Eddie laughed, a little harder than he had meant to, honestly. 

"You're always welcome to come crash. We can use the extra time to review relative clauses," Eddie said through a smile.

"Man, you really are all business, aren't you, Eds?"

"I won't rest until you can speak French in your sleep."

"Is that a real thing that happens?"

"I don't know about the speaking part, but I dream in French sometimes. It's weird," Eddie says as he stares off.

"That's pretty fucking cool, Monsieur Spaghetti."

And as much as Eddie wants to just surge forward and kiss Richie, he doesn't. He knows that would be a pointedly stupid decision. He still doesn't know if he's into guys (but he can probably get Stan to find out from Bill). And there's also that whole part of him not technically being allowed to date him since he's tutoring him, but whatever. He could deal with that later. 

He lets himself leave his own head and just focus on Richie. That's how he spends the entirety of the party - just sitting and listening to Richie tell dumb stories. He doesn't leave until Stan stumbles out back, surprisingly drunk and unsurprisingly supported by Bill, and mumbles something about wanting to go home and sleep until he forgets that he drank alcohol tonight. Eddie says his goodbyes to Richie and Bill and takes Stan, helping him make the short walk home. 

Once he's showered and in bed for the night, he pulls up spotify, clicking on  **voulez-vous coucher avec moi?** and pressing shuffle. He replays the entire day in his head, thinking about Richie, about how his pointless crush has now developed into something a little greater. He falls asleep listening to "Le Coup de Soleil," his heart beating softly as he thinks of Richie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a sincere thanks to my fav hotpocketgf on tumblr for coming up with the french kissing a bro line that i used... excellent writing and i must give credit where it is due. 
> 
> i feel like this is reading quite chaotically but! whatever it's just my brain being dumb! also yes i made that playlsit because i am an avid french music listener... just went to an angèle concert last week ok... yes french pop was spotify genre of the decade... let me live my life please
> 
> i love u! come yell at me on tumblr at birightsrichie if u want!!


	3. je veux te voir nu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Every time I get one wrong, I have to take off an article of clothing. But on the off chance I get one right, you take one off. Game ends when we finish the sheet, or when you can no longer resist my sexual energy and finally jump my bones."
> 
> title means "i want to see you nude"

They were on their third session of the week. All they'd been focusing on was verb tenses, because Richie just couldn't grasp them. What they meant, when to use them, how to conjugate - all of that seemed to make no sense to him. Eddie was trying to be as helpful as he could, but he was running out of things to try. He truly didn't know how to help Richie. And he said just that after Richie walked in with a fresh 'F' on his most recent verb pop quiz.

"Okay, I give up. I just don't know how to make it stick in your head," Eddie threw his hands up in exasperation. It was evident through his tone that he was being playful, though, because he didn't want Richie to give up hope. 

"I'm sorry, Monsieur Spaghetti, verbs are just not my thing. Where are the concrete rules?" Richie replied.

"It's mostly concrete rules!"

"There are thousands of exceptions. Literally so freaking many weird stems or conjugations or whatever."

Eddie readjusted himself from where he had slumped in his chair to emphasize his exasperation. He looked at Richie softly and said, "Alright, Richie. What do _you_ think would help? I'm willing to do anything."

He regretted it as soon as it left his mouth.

"Anything? Well, I had a thought. We do those verb tense sheets you were showing me, the ones where I differentiate between imparfait, passé composé, and plus que parfait? Except, there's a fun catch. Every time I get one wrong, I have to take off an article of clothing. But on the off chance I get one right, you take one off. Game ends when we finish the sheet, or when you can no longer resist my sexual energy and finally jump my bones."

Richie was grinning at Eddie like an idiot, probably because Eddie's eyes had grown to the size of sauces. He was _so_ ready with that answer. 

"There is absolutely no way in hell I'm doing that," Eddie said dismissively.

"Fine. I guess I'll just never learn French," Richie whined.

Eddie rolled his eyes and reached into his folder, grabbing the practice sheets Richie had mentioned.

"Alright, here. Let's try this. It's a story in English, but when we get to a verb, you tell me what tense it should be in French."

Eddie started reading the story, pausing after the first sentence to look at Richie. He was prompting Richie for an answer.

"Uh, I don't know. Passé composé?" Richie guessed.

"No. See, it says 'Last year, I had biology every Friday.' So, that means it was an ongoing thing, thus making it imparfait."

Richie shrugged, and reached his hands under the hem of his shirt.

"What are you doing? Rich - I told you we weren't playing your dumb game!"

" _You_ might not, but I still am. Afraid you won't be able to resist?" Richie grinned as he dropped his shirt on the floor. _Ugh. The mess._

Eddie knew Richie was joking, but he was right. Eddie already thought Richie was attractive, but now, sitting here shirtless, Eddie realized Richie was downright sexy. His pale skin was lightly toned, so he was still rather lanky but had enough definition to make Eddie's gay little brain stop working. 

"Fine. Whatever. Okay, next sentence. 'This Friday, I had gotten a snack on my way to class.' What tense there?"

"Plus que parfait. I know that's right, so strip."

"I told you I'm not playing."

"Mais je veux te voir nu!" Richie whined. _He wants to see me naked?_ Eddie thought to himself. Instead, though, he groaned out, "Dude, where are you learning all of these dirty phrases?"

"The internet, Eds. The internet has _everything_." Richie waggled his eyebrows, and Eddie was pretty certain he was making some insinuations about porn, but he blew right past it. He was trying his hardest not to get aroused, and thinking about Richie's porn preferences would not be in his favor right now.

"Next sentence! 'It was raining outside, so I grabbed my raincoat.' There's two verbs here. What tenses?"

"Uh, I guess was raining is passé composé? And grabbed, too." 

"The second one is right, but the first one is actually going to be imparfait. See, it _was_ raining, meaning it was ongoing. If it _was_ anything, then it's pretty much going to be imparfait. That's a safe bet."

Richie nodded, slipping off one of his shoes. Of course he had started big and was now backing down, realizing he was going to get quite a few wrong, probably.

About fifteen minutes later and Richie was left in his boxers. Eddie was fully clothed, so he felt kind of awkward. He was focused on averting his eyes from Richie's bare skin that he _so badly_ wanted to run his mouth over. They had finally finished the sheet. Eddie was pretty sure that towards the end, Richie was missing them on purpose to lose more clothing.

"Well, Eds. I guess I really do need your help, seeing as one more verb would have me fully exposed here." Richie gestured to his crotch, and Eddie rolled his eyes. He very pointedly did _not_ follow Richie's gesture. He was certain if he looked down he would lose his control.

"Yeah, you do. Good thing we still have like half of our session left! Do you wanna get redressed now?"

"Not particularly. I don't think you or _your friend_ wants me to, either." Richie pointed his eyes towards Eddie's crotch this time, which was half hard. Eddie flushed with embarrassment. All of his efforts were fruitless, and now Richie knew that Eddie was attracted to him. 

He tried his hardest to will his erection away, but Richie was staring at him with an indistinguishable look in his eyes, and Eddie thought he might melt. Or pass out. Or come in his pants. 

Instead, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Richie's lips. It only took Richie a moment before he was pulling Eddie into his lap. Eddie moaned at the contact, and Richie slipped his tongue into Eddie's mouth. Eddie's hands found their way to Richie's hair, tangling into his curls and tugging. Richie hissed at the pull, leaning into Eddie's touch. 

Richie moved his lips to Eddie's neck, mouthing over the flesh and stopping to suck marks into the skin that was most sensitive. His lips had Eddie grinding down onto Richie's dick, gasping at the sudden friction. It felt so fucking good, even through Eddie's jeans. He suddenly wished he had played along with Richie's game. 

They ground down into each other, their moans filling the small study room. Eddie was insanely thankful that the tutoring rooms were so private. If someone saw them, he would be in quite a lot of trouble. For some reason, though, that just turned him on more. The thought of _getting caught_. The scandal that would come with that. 

Eddie felt Richie's hands pry at his zipper, and he let him. His rational brain was apparently on vacation, because no part of him wanted to stop this. Soon, Richie's hand was palming at Eddie under his jeans, and Eddie thought he had died and gone to heaven.

"Fuck, Rich. Feels so fucking good," Eddie moaned into his ear, nipping at the flesh nearby.

"Yeah? I knew I wanted to get my hand in your pants from the moment I saw you, Eds. Sitting in here, looking so smart and sexy. Like a fucking wet dream, Eds. God, let me get my mouth on you."

Eddie was surprised he didn't come at just that. He just desperately nodded, and then Richie was pushing Eddie back into his own chair as he got down on his knees.

Eddie lifted his hips so Richie could pull his jeans and briefs down, just enough to get Eddie's dick out. It sprung up, slapping against his stomach. He was red and leaking, aching to get _more_ from Richie.

Richie gave him just that. It didn't take him long to have his lips wrapped around Eddie, head bobbing at a punishing pace. He sunk down far, so far that his nose pressed against Eddie's skin. It was taking all of Eddie's control not to snap his hips up into Richie's hot mouth. 

Richie kept bobbing, gagging slightly when he took Eddie deeper. Eddie couldn't even think coherent thoughts, just _Richie_ and _fuck_ and _warm_.

"Richie - fuck, fuck - I'm gonna - fuck, I'm gonna come," Eddie struggled out. Instead of pulling off, Richie just hollowed his cheeks, and Eddie thought he saw God as he came deep in Richie's throat, hips raising slightly as he whined out a string of profanities interspersed with wrecked cries of _Richie_.

When Richie pulled off, he had drool on his chin and his lips looked obscene. He made eye contact with Eddie as he swallowed his cum, darting his tongue out to catch the bit that had dribbled out. Eddie thought he might come again just at the sight.

He pulled Richie back up and yanked his boxers down, wasting no time in wrapping his fist around Richie. He pumped furiously, whispering dirty thoughts into Richie's ear to urge him along.

"Fuck, Richie. You looked so pretty on your knees. Loved seeing your lips stretched around my cock. You like having a cock in your mouth? You like having _my_ cock in your mouth, baby?"

And then Richie was coming in long spurts over Eddie's fingers, a little bit hitting the hem of his shirt. Eddie stroked him through his orgasm, drinking in the broken moans falling from Richie's mouth.

When they pulled back and started to resettle, Eddie noticed the cum on his shirt.

"Asshole, you got cum on my shirt!" Eddie whined, rolling his eyes. This was going to be a bitch to get out. Looks like he had a date with his stain stick tonight.

"My bad, but in my defense, you were giving me the best handjob of my life," Richie said with a shrug. 

And then it hit Eddie. That he had just given Richie, the guy he was hired to tutor, a handjob. Does this make him a prostitute? He was getting paid for this session, so he was technically getting paid for that handjob. He pushed that thought of his mind. He was already freaking out enough about what he had done.

"God, Richie. I'm sorry. That was so fucking unprofessional of me. I understand if you want to switch tutors. I should have never kissed you, and I certainly should have stopped before things got that far."

"Eds, no worries. That was straight out of my fantasies. I've been wanting to fuck my hot tutor since day one."

"Anyways, I should go. Uh, text me if you want to schedule another session. But again, I understand if you don't. Bye." 

And with that, Eddie was out the door and rushing to his dorm.

\---

"I fucking kissed him, Stan! I kissed him!" Eddie groaned as he burst through his dorm room door.

"And I _was_ kissing him, but I guess now we're focusing on you?" Stan had Bill straddling his lap, and Eddie briefly felt bad about interrupting, but to be fair, this was a bit of a crisis.

"Hi Bill. Sorry. Anyways, I kissed Richie! Not only that, he sucked my dick! And I gave him a handjob! I got his fucking cum on my shirt! I am officially the worst tutor on the planet!" 

"I think that would probably make you the _best_ tutor on the planet," Bill said with a grin. 

"Shut it. What do I do? How am I supposed to show up to the next session without dying from how awkward it's going to be?"

"I think you're overthinking it, Eddie. Like always," Stan said calmly. Eddie wasn't quite so willing to agree.

"I think I have a right to overthink! Like, I guess he finally got his dick wet, something he's been joking about and asking for this whole time, but now what? I actually _like_ him, and he probably just wanted an orgasm-"

"No, that's not true," Bill interjected. Eddie looked at him questioningly, so he continued. "Richie like, actually likes you. Which is rare for him. He came back after the first session saying he had finally found _love_ . Rambled on and on about your pretty eyes and soft skin, blah blah blah. He didn't even start talking about wanting to fuck you until after the party, though I'm sure he'd already made comments to you, cause that's what he does. He knows I _despise_ hearing him talk about sex, though, so the fact that he said something is a big deal."

Eddie looked up at the ceiling, unsure what to do with this new information. Just then, he felt his phone buzz. It was a text from Richie.

**(7:09 PM) can we have another session tomorrow? verbs, man. they're kicking my ass.**

**(7:10 PM) and also i wanna see u again cutie**

_(7:12 PM) yeah, sure. meet at 6?_

**(7:12 PM) yea brb gonna go fantasize about ur lips now**

**(7:13 PM) ;) je t'aime**

Eddie blushed a bit, but at least these texts meant it wasn't going to be awkward. And hell, maybe Bill was right. Maybe Richie was actually interested in him after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhh ok so this was originally never gonna get smutty but alas that's where the story wanted to go! but also now it's only gonna be 4 chapters i apologize i just don't feel it warrants a fifth chapter. might change my mind idk.
> 
> i hope u guys like!!!! come holler at me on [tumblr!](birightsrichie.tumblr.com)
> 
> comments and kudos give me the will to live so!!!! please!!!!


	4. je suis fou de toi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Anyways, back to my deal. I have a French test on Friday. If I get an A, you go on a date with me, cause then I'm too smart to have a tutor. If I don't, then whatever. I'll drop it I guess."
> 
> title means "i'm crazy about you"

"Go on a date with me."

Eddie looked up from his phone to see Richie entering the tutoring room, a broad smile on his face and two (two!) iced coffees in hand. He sets one of the coffees down in front of Eddie, sipping on the other as he sinks into his seat.

"What?" Eddie asks, barely processing the words Richie just said.

"I want to take you out on a date. It will be an evening full of me being terribly flirty. I'll even learn a whole bunch of new French phrases to use on you. Please."

Eddie thinks for a minute. He wants to say yes. So badly. But the Eddie Kaspbrak way is to be difficult and overthink everything, so that's what he does.

"I just- I'm your tutor. Is that really a good idea?"

"You can stop being my tutor and instead just be my genius boyfriend who helps me with my French work and also French kisses me a lot."

Eddie doesn't say anything. His thoughts are racing through his head, and he doesn't know what to say. So Richie speaks up again.

"Look, if I misread this, if you just wanted a quick hookup yesterday, that's fine. I can be normal. Or, like, as normal as I ever am. But I like you, and I just want to make sure you know that."

Richie looks vulnerable as he stares into Eddie's eyes. It makes Eddie want to lunge forward and kiss him again. But again, the Eddie Kaspbrak way.

"I want to say yes. I really do. I'm just overthinking everything like usual."

Richie leans back in his chair and thinks for a moment. Then a devious smile starts to spread across his face.

"Alright. I've got a deal for you then. Since you're all hung up about being my tutor or whatever and this being unprofessional, which by the way, Eds, there's nothing  _ professional  _ about college students tutoring other students anyways. Especially not when they swap blowjobs mid session." Eddie goes red at that and Richie lets out a breathy laugh.

"Anyways, back to my deal. I have a French test on Friday. If I get an A, you go on a date with me, cause then I'm too smart to have a tutor. If I don't, then whatever. I'll drop it I guess."

"You've got yourself a deal," Eddie says with a smile. He just wanted a good reason to say yes since apparently liking Richie wasn't a good enough reason for him. He's sure it has something to do with some psychological thing, but he's not thinking about that right now.

"Then I guess we better get to studying. I will not be stripping for you today, as it is important that I learn."

Eddie rolls his eyes and gives Richie the finger, to which Richie acts scandalized. Then Eddie's just laughing, because Richie is just really good at making him laugh.

"Alright, hit me with the subjonctif 'je' and 'nous' stems for these 45 verbs."

"Nooooo! Not the subjonctif. That's the worst of them all."

"Sucks for you, then, because I know it's gonna be on your test."

"Then I guess I will be a subjonctif expert," Richie replies, tipping an invisible hat. Eddie rolls his eyes again as Richie starts filling out the worksheet Eddie had placed in front of him.

They spend the rest of their session on verbs, because Richie truly just fucking sucks at them. Then Richie left, saying he would be studying furiously until Friday. Eddie just laughed. As soon as Richie was gone, he let out a long breath he didn't know he had been holding.

\---

" _ Stan!  _ You will not believe what happened today! Are you guys doing a puzzle? Wait, Mike - are you third wheeling a  _ puzzle date _ ? Nevermind. I don't care. Richie asked me out."

"I told you," Stan said, to which Mike and Bill both just nodded.

"I already knew, actually, because he wouldn't fucking shut up about you last night. I was about to throw hands with him," Bill said, sliding a puzzle piece into place.

"Okay, but like. That's not the whole story."

The three guys shifted their gaze from the puzzle on the floor (which was carefully placed on Stan's roll-up puzzle mat) and looked up at Eddie questioningly.

"Did you guys fuck this time?" Mike asked, smiling innocently. Eddie gave him the middle finger and continued his story.

"So, you guys know how I overthink everything, right?" He was met with affirmative nods. "Well, I was obviously overthinking, so he turned this into another one of his little games. If he gets an A on his test on Friday, I'm going to go on a date with him. If he doesn't, I guess I'm not? I don't know, I haven't really thought about that because I want him to get an A."

"Why didn't you just say yes then, dipshit?" Stan asked flatly. Always one to cut to the chase.

" _ Because _ , Stanley, I am a big dumb gay idiot. My brain does not work around Richie. I am too stupid."

"Well, I don't know just how bad Richie is at French, but I do know he will do just about anything for a date with you. He just might get an A."

Eddie hoped he would.

\---

Eddie sat at the student café, idly rubbing his fingers around the handle of his mug. He was waiting for Richie, who had just asked him to grab coffee and given no other details. It was only Monday, so Eddie doubted he had his grade back yet. 

"Voulez-vous me donner une pipe?" Richie whispered in Eddie's ear, sending shivers down his spine.

"No, I will not be giving you a blowjob, dumbass. But I'm glad to see your vocabulary is expanding."

"It sure is. Look at this." Richie slid an assignment across the table. Upon further inspection, Eddie realized it was  _ the  _ test. And there was a big red "A" scribbled on top.

"I'll be taking that date now, Monsieur Spaghetti. And a blowjob, too, if you please." Richie punctuated his sentence with a smile. Eddie was too proud of him to say anything snarky or even to roll his eyes. He just took a moment, processing what had just happened. And the fact that even though Eddie had been an idiot this whole time, he was now getting a date with Richie. He was very happy with how this all turned out.

"Yes to the date. No to the blowjob."

"D'accord, juste une branlette!"

"Maybe a handjob. If you really woo me."

"Oh, Spaghetti. I will be wooing you all night long." Richie waggled his eyebrows and grinned at Eddie, and Eddie gave him an eye roll back.

"So, when is this date occurring?" Eddie asked, trying to hide how excited he was. He didn't think he was succeeding, but Richie didn't say anything.

"Are you busy tonight? I know it's a Monday, but I have wanted to take you out this whole time so. The sooner the better!" 

"Sure. You better have something good planned. Lame dates don't end in handjobs."

\---

It was 5:00 sharp when Eddie heard knocking on his door. He had spent the rest of his afternoon nervously anticipating his date. He'd showered once and fought the urge to shower a second time, and he'd meticulously picked out his outfit. Stan had just called him "too gay for his own good" and left to hang out with Bill. Eddie had told him how gay that was, but Stan just ignored him and said he had birds to watch and boys to kiss. Which, again,  _ gay _ .

Eddie swung the door open. Richie was on the other side, wearing something other than a horrendous hawaiin shirt. And his hair looked presentable. And he was holding flowers. Okay, what the fuck? 

"Are you Richie Tozier? Or an alien?"

"It's me, good ol' dick! I just clean up nice when I know I have a cute boy waiting for me. Also, grab another jacket."

Eddie rolled his eyes for what he was sure would not be the only time tonight. He was also curious because he was pretty decently bundled up for early late November. But he grabbed an extra jacket anyways, and then locked his door before they walked out to Richie's car.

Eddie kept asking Richie where they were going the whole ride there, but Richie would not answer. He had put on that cheesy French love song playlist he had made (which Eddie knew by heart now because he listened to it far too much). Eddie sang along, but less than he usually did on his own. He didn't want Richie to know just how much he listened to it.

"Here we are, Monsieur Mignon!" Richie exclaimed as he pulled into a parking spot.

"Mr. Cute? Really?"

"It's what you are! Mignon, mignon, mignon!" 

Eddie rolled his eyes again and took in the surroundings. It was the outdoor ice skating rink that was always put up in the winter. He had never been - he was always a little afraid. But this was too fucking cute of an idea for him to say he was afraid, so he went along with it. He understood the whole extra jacket thing now, too. He slid it on as they hopped out of the car.

As they laced up their boots, Eddie started speaking again. "Okay, I've never been ice skating so please go easy on me."

"What? How?! Well, I am honored to be your first." Eddie blushed at the implications. He stood and followed Richie out to the rink, nerves making his skin nearly tingle.

"Okay, just hold on to me. I'm pretty good at this," Richie said as they started skating. Richie was right. He was pretty good at this. Eddie felt very safe holding onto him. They skated around for a while, joking and laughing and, of course, experiencing more of Richie's terrible French flirting. Eddie was starting to get the hang of it.

"I want to try on my own," Eddie said suddenly, feeling brave. Richie smiled and let go of him, and Eddie started skating slowly. Richie stayed close by, hands almost hovering in front of him, ready to catch Eddie. 

"You're a natural, Eds!" 

Then, just as he was getting comfortable, he felt his balance shift. He was slipping. He reached out to grab Richie, but it was too late. They were both going down. Which, at least if he was going to fall, he was bringing Richie down with him.

They giggled as they fell against the ice. People continued to skate by, but they barely noticed.

"Embrassez-moi," Eddie said, grinning at Richie.

"Oh, Eds with the French, now, huh? I like it. It's sexy. But also, I'm dumb as shit and don't know what you said."

"I said kiss me, idiot."

And Richie didn't need to be told twice. He leaned in, pressing his lips against Eddie's. And it felt so right.

After clambering off the ice, they ordered hot chocolate at a nearby café. Richie leaned forward and said in a half-joking, half-sexy voice, "Have I earned my handjob yet?"

Eddie rolled his eyes, but smiled and said, "Maybe even more than that. This was a pretty damn good date."

And if later that night, Eddie sucked Richie off in his dorm room, then that's his own damn business. And if he had the best orgasm of his life with Richie's fingers in his ass and his voice in his ear, whispering some of the filthiest things he's ever heard, that is  _ also  _ his own damn business. And if Stan and Mike ruthlessly bullied him for the hickies littering his neck the next morning, well, then that's a little more than just his own damn business. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i finally fucking finished it huh!!!! the only thing i had planned for this chapter was the whole "an A = a date" thing. then this whole thing happened!!!
> 
> i have an idea for a new fic, but i'm also pretty busy with work right now so i'm not sure if i'm going to get around to writing it soon. buuuut once i get back to school in late january, i will have more time to write!
> 
> THANK YOU so much for reading! here is my [ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/birightsrichie) if you feel compelled to donate (which you do not have to!!! seriously, kudos and comments are PLENTY for me). and, as always, come harass me on tumblr at birightsrichie!!


End file.
